Wednesday, July 15, 2009

And one of the truly GREAT things about LIVING on an island is that I can’t help but walk 10 minutes in any direction without hitting a beautiful beach.

I’ve mentioned before that I LIVE for the Summer months. They go by too damn quickly, but I try to make the most out of them. Whether it is going to the beach, hanging by my pool, or just inviting people over for a Summer Barbeque, I really try to soak up as much Summer sun as I can each year.

So, it’s kind of strange that, even though I have been asked to be in a Summer beach volleyball league for about 5 years now, I have always turned it down.

I’m not sure why the thought of being in a volleyball league never really appealed to me before. I mean, I love being outside in the Summer, I love the beach, I love volleyball, and I seem to enjoy watching chicks in little bikinis jumping up and down, so why the Hell have I never pulled the trigger on this?

I don’t have the faintest, but this Summer I finally decided to take the plunge and join up with some friends, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying every damn minute of it.

We are in the “non-competitive” league, which suits me just fine since by the 2nd game of each week my multiple trips to the beach bar have begun to take their toll. We have about 10 people on our team, 7 guys and 3 girls, and so far it’s been Hella-fun. There are a TON of people playing. There are usually 36 courts going at one time, and with 3 teams to a court, there are usually a few hundred people there each week. At the end of each night, most of the crowd heads over to the beach bar for some cocktails while an outdoor band plays on. All in all, it’s a very fun night that I’ve been finding myself looking forward to each week.

I think our current record is something like 5-20. That’s bad, right? Honestly, being so bad is part of what’s making this such a fun evening every week. We could care less if we win, and we usually have a fun time losing.

The only bad thing about the experience so far is our team name.

As the title of this post suggests, we are the Sweet Tomatoes.

Why the Sweet Tomatoes, you might very well ask? Well, the league gets revenue from corporate sponsors, and in turn the sponsors get to have their company name be the name of a team in the league. Some teams are sporting some cool names like “Sky Dive Long Island”, or “Long Island Athletics”.

But not us. Thanks to some fine people who opened up a restaurant in Glen Cove called Sweet Tomatoes, we are now the laughing stock of the league.

At least we are embracing our effeminate name. We are contemplating buying team t-shirts that show a picture of a tomato with the text, “You say Tomato, I Say Go Fuck Yourself!”. I am wholeheartedly behind this purchase.

Anyway, we are playing tonight, so wish us luck. It’s always a treat for the women there when I show up, being so hot and all.

Maybe I’ll treat them to me playing with my shirt off tonight. After all, they’ve earned it.

Your league sounds like a blast! Any activity that includes a beach bar can't be wrong. And personally, I love the team name.

We got to pick our bowling team name. We're "Three's Company." The guys in the league encourage the women to wear a uniform consisting of a tank top. We do and as a result, don't have to buy our own beer.

Take satisfcation in the fact that your team isn't called the Valtrex Vipers or the Cialis Cobras. There are worse things in life.......like trying to play softball in Phoenix Arizona when it is 115 frickin degrees outside. Even the bugs stay in the shade. Hows that for "Summer"?